The San Francisco Cable Car

One of the enduring images of San Francisco is that of a cable car traversing the hills (with the bay in the background). The cable cars remain one of the largest tourist attractions, and are continued to be used by the locals (though certainly not for its speed). It is also a brilliant piece of engineering, something I only began to comprehend once I went to the Cable Car Museum, which also doubles up as the storage, maintenance and central operations of the entire cable car.

Wikipedia would be better to understand the whole system, but here is the gist. Traditional cable cars, have a rope slung between two points with a carriage dangling below. The rope moves, dragging the car along. String the cable between a high point and a low point, and you get the cable car as seen on Table mountain and elsewhere.

Instead of overhanging cables, the cables in the SF system run under the streets, with centralised controls. The cables run constantly (you can hear them run) and the cable cars have a mechanism to "grip" and release the cable. When it grips the cable, it moves forward, when it is released it stops. There are two key advantages of the system, which are only now overcome with modern cars - they can climb very steep hills and even stop on hills & they effective travel at a constant speed regardless of the incline.

They are no longer the most practical means of transportation, but they do their job well. They are expensive ($6 each way) but the passes are also valid on the system, and this makes it a lot cheaper.

(Clicking on a photo will enlarge it slightly)

San Francisco to Muir Woods (and Stinson Beach)

The two things I learnt about San Francisco long ago was the Golden Gate bridge and the giant redwoods on the other side of the bay (Muir Woods).

Public transport in San Francisco is great, but it doesn't extend far outside the city limits. Getting to Muir Woods with public transport during the "off" season is not easy; the tourist officer at Sausalito claimed that it didn't exist, and my host in SF was also of the opinion that I would need to hire a car. Mountain bike routes exist, but I am no where near the fitness levels required for such a feat.

There is a route, though not very convenient. The Golden Gate Transit busses between San Francisco and Sausalito is the first leg; although one could also take the ferry if desired. Thereafter, Bus 61 takes one from either Marlin City or Sausalito ferry stop on the weekends; up the aptly named Panoramic Highway to a number of hiking points along the park.

The very helpful driver dropped me at the crossing of the Dipsea trail, which was about a mile from the entrance to Muir Woods.

The busses are about every 2 hours, and I was not too confident on making it back in time. So I decided to carry on hiking, all the way down to the pacific ocean at Stinson beach. It was a total distance of about 16 km (as per my hiking app), the trails are well marked and the views are well worth the effort.

Muir Woods is amazing, the large trees dominate, but as you leave the park, there is other vegetation also. Compared to other forests, there is a distinct quietness (discounting the human chatter) - I expected a lot more bird life.

Bus 61 can be caught from Stinson beach, and waiting by the beach is so much better than the side of the road.

The San Francisco Symphony

Celebrating its 100^th birthday this year, the San Francisco Symphony is one of the world's top classical orchestras. I have always wanted to go see a top class symphony playing in a dedicated symphony hall, so this was an ideal moment (incidentally I still haven't managed to go see the Berlin Philharmonic). To sweeten the deal, unsold tickets are discounted on the day of the concert to $20, which made the experience even better ;)

The Miles Davis Symphony Hall is a fantastic venue with brilliant acoustics. It looks stunning from inside and outside, and has a small exhibition on the 100 years of the symphony on the first level.

Last nights program included Hayden's 104th Symphony, Mozart's 39th Symphony and Piano Concerto no 25. The conductor was Rinaldo Alessandrini and the soloist was Olivier Cavé.

Cycling around the bay

The bike (cycles) rental companies proudly claim, that biking around the bay is the best way to see the bay. They are not overselling ...

After spending the last two days walking everywhere, I decided to take a cycle instead. Starting at the end of Fisherman's wharf, going up to the Golden Gate bridge, over the bridge to the town of Sausalito and then taking the ferry back. It is clearly a popular route, not only on the evidence of the number of bikes on the ferry, but the infrastructure in Sausalito to support the cyclists.

There are two climbs, though not very difficult - the first comes too soon when you are starting out and the second is up to the bridge. Thereafter, it's a nice ride down to the ferry. I had thought of going a lot further, but the ferry times, at least in winter, are not conducive.

San Francisco is a great city for cycling. The bike rentals are not cheap (mine came to about $30), but it beats walking.

Noise Pop at the Brick and Mortar

Noise Pop, now in its 20^th year, is an annual musical tradition focussing on Indie Rock, in Sab Francisco, and responsible for unearthing quite a few well known bands. I discovered it last night while looking for potential gigs, also unearthing the fact that Die Antwoord were playing a sold out gig a 3 blocks away from where I am staying! So I resolved to attend at least one gig of the festival, which ends on Sunday.

The first band, a duo really, Carleta Sue Kay, comprising of a singer and a guitarist; was a last minute addition to the line up. The lyrics were brilliant - humorous, witty, interesting (e.g. "my post appocalyptic, super narcissistic love song") and the singer had an impressive vocal range to complement.

The second band, Chapter 24, was a four piece (2 guys, 2 gals) and were quite opposite to the band they were following. The vocalist had a weird reverb effect and seemed to mumble quite a bit, although she did sound good. What it was however. Is really good music and a singer who seemed to be jumping or walking in a trance. It was entertaining to listen to, and amusing to watch.

Bare Wires is a three piece band that'l looks and sound as they are from the 70's. Their guitar play was superb, and overall had foot tapping, some jumping and/or swaying music. Can't really comment on the lyrics as I couldn't make out the words; not sure if the singer was mumbling or I was just very tired.

Dirty Ghosts, the last band lived up to its headline billing. Their lyrics weren't as interesting as the first act, but they had a richer and most interesting sound of the bands of the night. They had an engaging stage presence.

It was quite a packed venue, and the audience demographics was quite varied. Compared to South African bands at the same stage of their performance career, these bands were a lot more polished and professional.

Golden Gate Park

Bigger than New York's Central Park, it's a damn log walk from one end to the other. Unlike Manhattan, San Francisco has a lot of parks, but even then the Golden Gate park was busy, and most people seemed to be locals.

There are a number of additional attractions within the park, though apart from the AIDS memorial, I didn't enter. The park was busy with the usual joggers and cyclists, as well as the homeless and numerous drug dealers (I was offered marijuana at least 5 times, though all before the entrance to the AIDS memorial grove). I also came across a drumming circle, featuring a cross section of the San Francisco populous.

The park ends at the Pacific ocean, and getting back to town was a bit of a challenge (more due to a lack of signage more than anything else, the number 5 bus is fairly close by).

Mission Delores

It is the site of the oldest building in San Francisco, and the third site of the catholic mission. I was fortunate that my arrival coincided with the start of a school tour group, and I got a fascinating history lesson from the curator, Andy. Andy is the direct descendant of one of the earliest Indian (as he insisted not Native American) converts, and gave a fascinating story on the construction and the history of the mission. He focused a lot more on the Indian story, such as the impact of colonialism in diet and the environment, the impact of disease and also the story behind some of the very impressive artwork within the church.

Chinatown

Every Chinatown I have been to, seem to have the same things - cheap t-shirts, massage parlors, gift shops, food places and buildings decorated in an oriental style. The San Francisco Chinatown is certainly bigger, with a number of higher end art shops, but is not remarkably different.

San Francisco Skyline

Top of Telegraph Hill, Coit Tower provides a stunning viewpoint for the San Francisco skyline. The clear skies certainly helps with the views!

Coit Tower

It was granted historical monument status due to its murals, but some of the murals are inaccessible as the stairway is closed. Stunning views from the top makes the $7 entry fee worth it.

The walk down towards Embecardo is steep, but through some stunning gardens.

Latin Grill Express

Near Ghiradelli Square, Latin Grill Express is a small coffee and sandwich store with a Latin flavour. I decided to stop for a quick lunch, enticed by the free wifi, but stayed due to the organic fair trade coffee and "exotic" sandwiches.

It was apparently the school lunch hour, as the shop was flooded by kids stopping by for a quick lunch.

Glorious Day in San Francisco

It has been a great day. So far, just walking around ...

This is a very scenic city.

The long route to San Francisco

When I was looking for flights to SFO from South Africa, I had only one requirement - only deal with American airports once. traveling via Europe was a bonus.

On the surface, the end route was reasonable, JNB - MUC and MUC - SFO. I did discover that the Munich - San Francisco flight stopped in Chicago, but since it was the same flight number, and I had no changes indicated on my ticket, I didn't think I had to get out of the plane.

I was wrong. Despite having the same flight number, not only did you have to deplane, but the Chicago - San Francisco route was on a different plane altogether. I must admit that it was pretty efficient - immigration (without any hassles), followed by a change in terminals, the long laborious security check (for the first time, I had no extra screening ... that was nice) and I had enough time to dart into the lounge for a drink and a visit to the toilet.

I was also very impressed with United. The last time I flew intercontinental with United, I was stuck in the middle seat (in a cluster of 5) in the middle row. This time I was surprised at the amount of legroom on both flights as well as the general facilities (as can be attested by the number of movies i watched) and service. It seems, that on United the old timers get the international flights while the newbies get the domestic as there was a considerable gap in the average age of the flight attendants!

There was also a stark contrast in the airports. Munich is modern, with lots of space and gleaming glass and steel. Both Chicago and San Francisco are old concrete behemoths, crowded and feels a bit creaky and worn down.

Ultimately, it was a long trip, about 10:30 hours to Munich, about 9:30 to Chicago and the last leg was about 4:30 hours. Added to that, there was the transit time and the general airport waiting, and it was about 36 hours in total. So, in hindsight I should have taken the Frankfurt route, even though I am not too big a fan of the city ... lessons for next time.

Movie: Drive

The original version of the game, Driver was, in my opinion one of the best driving games of its time. The opening scene of the movie reminded me of the game; the police chases, the hiding from the cops and even the countdown to the finish line!

Sadly, apart from a few more car chases, the movie is excruciatingly slow and overly artistic. Ryan Gosling plays the driver, part time stuntman, part time getaway driver who gets set up with a dud job while trying to help a friend. The entire movie could have been 45 minutes if all the arty slow motion effects and the long shots of nothing are taken out; and it would be a better movie too.

Movie: Immortals

Badly written, horrible dialog, crappy story ... lots of gore, heroic deaths, saving the world, a few beautiful women - I suppose there are a few redeeming qualities. Sadly, it still feels that I should have watched something else ...

Movie: 50/50

A comedy about cancer, in itself sounds strange. Set around the story of a young man (played brilliantly by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) diagnosed with a rare cancer, detected early enough for him to have a 50% chance of survival.

The movie is not all laughs, but instead of focusing on the tragedy, it focuses on the many absurdities, from insensitive doctors, to eating biscuits with marijuana, to the constant "you will be fine". It is not an inspirational tale of beating the odds (or trying to), but it is still the most upbeat story of cancer (or any other serious illness) that I have seen.

Movie: Ides of March

The George Clooney directed political thriller has been at the theatres for quite a while, but I only got round to seeing it on the plane. It is billed as "an idealistic staffer getting a crash course in dirty politics", but I think it is a lot more.

Centered around a fictional democratic primary for the presidency, it is a study of strategy firstly, and politician's ethics secondly. The beauty of the movie is not the dirty politics, but how the central character played by Ryan Gosling, takes advantage of the situation to further his own end. While he comes across as caring and very much a "good guy", earlier in the movie, in the end we are left with a cold, calculating cynic. The transformation, and the story around the transformation is brilliant.

Groenkloof Nature Reserve

When I moved to Gauteng, I was introduced to Groenkloof for mountain biking. I haven't biked for a long time, but have become a very regular (weekly is my aim) hiker.

Just outside Pretoria, it is one of the oldest reserves in South Africa, and features a number of hiking, bike and 4x4 trails. There is a wide variety of game, and I have often come across at least 3 or 4 species of large animals. The hiking and bike trails allow one to get very close to the animals (and sometimes too close). There is also an incredible transformation just after the rains when the main valley is filled with croaking frogs and a huge variety of bird life.

Abdullah Ibrahim and the New South African Orchestra

A legend in the South African music scene, this was the first time I actually had the opportunity to attend a live performance. Playing with an 18 piece big band/orchestra, the concert featured a lot of his own compositions and some tributes to jazz legends. I say legends due to the reaction of a full house at the Linder Auditorium, since my own knowledge of Jazz is quite limited.

The contrast between jazz performances and classical performances I usually attend at the Linder is quite stark. For starters, applause and audience appreciation is not constrained by etiquette of waiting for the end of the piece. The performers also acknowledged a hearty applause with a short bow, while the rest of the band members carried on! The dress code of the performers is also relaxed - no tuxedos and ties to be seen, although most of the audience was a lot more dressed up!

The performance was mostly very lively and enjoyable. Abdullah Ibrahim was the MC, but he did tend to mumble a bit. The project, if I understood correctly was about making musical performances more accessible. In that sense, I don't think it was a great success. At R220 a ticket, it is far outside the reach of most people. Without a program an more information on the pieces themselves it is not easy to follow for non jazz followers.

It was still a great experience, and though I don't follow jazz a very enjoyable evening.

Presenting the Buskaid Academy

Another addition to the Johannesburg International Mozart Festival this year was the Buskaid Ensemble, playing a concert in the wonderful Villa Arcadia. The mansion was once the home of a mining magnate (in the early 1900's), and then an orphanage (probably the most scenic orphanage around) and now part of Hollard's corporate campus (the story can be found here). The views are absolutely stunning, and the gardens have been well maintained - we even spotted an owl in the gardens!

But the highlight was the Buskaid. Once again, they played a brilliant mix of classical, contemporary and the traditional; and once again their choice of classical music makes them stand out from other classical ensembles. The entire classical set was the music of Le Chevalier de Saint-George - the black Mozart (and a contemporary of Mozart).

The evening started off with a movement from his Symphony No 2, followed by a selection of musical pieces from his ballet, L’amant anonyme. One of the great things about Rosemary Nalden, the Buskaid founder, is her passion to talk about the music instead of just performing it. So, after the ballet piece, we got a short talk on the different styles of performing string music (and how it has changed over the course of time) including the influence of equipment (such as the bows) and also how different the sound is from the different playing styles.

An alumnus, Kabelo Motlhomi (who went on to study music in the UK) was the soloist, in Chevalier de Saint-George's first violin concerto. Chevalier de Saint-George was himself a flamboyant violin player; and Kabelo's performance was brilliant; thoroughly deserving the rousing applause at the end of his performance.

In "celebration" of Valentine's Day, the rest of the concert was lighter, romantic songs with some Buskaid members singing. Before the start of the lighter stuff, Rosemary made the comment that it has been 15 years since the Buskaid formally started as a music school in Soweto. The 15 years has been remarkably successful, in producing great musicians. So, she feels that the Buskaid should no longer be a project - but an academy for string music and performance art. It is the closest thing South Africa has to the El Sistema - and I wish the Buskaid Academy all the best! And I will continue to go to Buskaid concerts whenever I can ... they are truly one of the best musical ensembles in South Africa.

Rude SAA ground staff

I fly a lot, and very often on SAA. Overall, I would say that the staff is polite and service is excellent. My recent redemption of voyager miles was an excellent case in point. Tonight, I am flying again, and have come across rude ground staff twice in 30 minutes! The first was at baggage drop off, where I was brusquely told that I was at the wrong counter and to go somewhere else, despite the counter being labeled "Fast Bag Drop". But it was not so much the message but the delivery of the message.

But the latter scene was inexcusable. While waiting for the plane to commence boarding, there were two ground staff sitting opposite. A gentleman, who was also on the same flight enquirer whether he was in the right place and why the plane wasn't boarding. The response was not, we aren't ready yet or directing him to the right person, but stating that he should look at the board and it will tell him when boarding would commence. The man was clearly bewildered so he approached the ground staff at a rival airline at the next counter who were far more helpful.

SAA was recently awarded the best airline in Africa for service, and has been for a number of years. At this rate maybe it won't stay like that for much longer.

Boring Piano - JPO's 1st 2012 Season 1st Concert

The first JPO concert in the new year started off quite merrily - with two dances (Polonaise and Waltz) from Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin.

The second work, featuring English pianist Michael Roll as the soloist, was Schumann's Piano Concerto. I am not sure whether it was the performance, or the the piece itself; but it was very boring. Perhaps it is a technical masterpiece, but it was not really enjoyable in my perspective.

In contrast to the concerto, Franck's Symphony in D Minor was very enjoyable. Although composed long before the advent of talking movies; parts of the score, to me, seemed straight out of a soundtrack - especially that of a thriller/adventure. Perhaps its modernity (despite being more than 100 years old) is what made it enjoyable ...

Movie: Punk in Africa

One of the cool things about The Bioscope, is that it screens movies, that would otherwise not get a screening at South African movie theatres. Punk In Africa, is a documentary on punk music - from the late 1970's to 2011 (when it was filmed) - predominately in South Africa, a bit of Mozambique and Zimbabwe and a couple of mentions of the rest of Africa. The definition of punk is fluid; and covers - as far as the bands that are covered - rock, reggae, ska and a bit more. The common thread, be it bands from the way past such as National Wake; to the modern Fuzzigish and Hog Hoggidy Hog; is their focus on societal protest.

With a lot of archived footage; and interviews with the band members; there is a lot of interesting tidbits like, not only were there multi-racial punk bands in the 1980's - they were very popular in the townships. With a lot of focus on pre-1994 bands, there was off course quite a lot on racial segregation and the secret police and their impact on band line-ups and performances. But the real gems in the documentary are the archived video footage of the band performances. They have also now released a compilation of the music from the documentary, which should make interesting listening.

I haven't been to see a live rock band for a long time (outside concerts for big international artists). A number of venues that I knew off in Johannesburg has closed - and I think all of the clubs featured in the movie are now gone. The lack of clubs also implies that there has been a steady decline in the popularity of the music. Is it a matter of demographics, or a lack of money (for the band members) or simply a change in musical taste - I am not sure.

Getting out of Brussels (or Antwerp)...

I am thinking of going to see Rammstein in Antwerp next month (getting a scalper's ticket off course, since its all sold out). While getting to Antwerp required some creative thinking, to be fairly cheap; getting out is proving to be a lot more difficult (I need to be in Helsinki within 2 days of the Rammstein concert). I have tried a number of combinations; but the ticket prices are just astronimical (talking well into 400+ EUR price range) or at ridiculuous times.

At this rate, it just doesn't seem to be worth it ...

Movie: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

For some reason, I have never got round to reading the series by Stieg Larsson; and also didn't get round to seeing the Swedish versions of the movies when it was released in South Africa last year. On the basis of this movie, the series is definitely on my list of books to read.

The direct Swedish translation of the title "Men Who Hate Women", is so much more descriptive of the plot, than the published title. It is a crime story where two unlikely characters try to solve a decades old mystery of a missing, presumed dead, girl from a very wealthy family. And in this roller coaster, we are introduced to even more deaths, which seem to follow a connected pattern.

Brilliantly acted, stunning cinematography and a great plot all contributes towards a great movie. Despite its length, it actually doesn't feel that long - it is the best type of storytelling; one that sucks you in completely.

Improvisations on Nosferatu

The 1922 German silent horror movie, Nosferatu, has an interesting history (as per the Wikipedia article), and is one of the earliest adaptations of Bram Stoker's Dracula. As part of the Johannesburg International Mozart Festival, pianist Paul Hammer and saxophonist McCoy Mrubata, performed a musical score (don't think it was unrehearsed) accompanying the screening.

As a movie, Nosferatu was interesting in it self (though it seems the translated version does use the Dracula names and not the German substitutes). It does not come across as terrifying; and a lot of that is due to the explosion of vampire lore. The music was not terrifying either; and in fact made the movie a lot more comical than what was intended.

The venue was The Bioscope, an independent movie theatre in downtown Jo'burg (near Ellis Park). It's part of a wider artistic community including cafe's and a hotel. There are some interesting movies on their lineup ... thinking of exploring further on what it has to offer.

This is a great idea, and hopefully future editions of the festival showcase more of these collaborations.

Fugard's Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act

The recent furore over a DA youth poster, led to some interesting comments in the newspapers - some commented that it was a cheap marketing ploy, others commented against the naked models in the posters and off course there were commnents on the inter-racial couple itself. In many respects, the timing of the poster couldn't be a better advertisement for the staging of one of Athol Fugard's earliest plays.

The Fugard Theatre is off course an apt location for the performance of an Athol Fugard play (I believe that the theatre and the playright are not directly connected). Located in District Six, in a renovated old building; and in its young lifetime it has hosted some impressive acts (as advertised prominently on the lobby walls). It has a strange combination of formalism and informalism at the same time - M commented at the fact that it was probably the most well dressed crowd she had come across in Cape Town (and we were very much under dressed in t-shirts and jeans); while they also happily let you take your drinks from the bar into the theatre with no issues.

If you felt that the DA poster was inciteful, then don't bother with going to the play - not only is the play about inter-racial relationship (under apartheid) but the two main characters are also nude throughout. Set in a time when inter-racial relationships were illegal, the play is about the relationship between a single, white librarian (played by Bo Petersen) and a slightly younger, coloured school principal (played by Malefane Mosuhli). The set and lighting design is deceptively simple; but very effective - and you almost don't notice that all the actors are actually on stage when you go in to take your seat.

It starts of slowly; and almost too dramatically. But as the story evolves, it pulls the audience in and the flowery monologues disappear. It is not a happy story, and after the performance Mr Mosuhli commented that he hoped it didn't spoil my evening. It's a story that is still relevant; because, as the DA poster controversy revealed, we still have a long way to go. The play runs till 11 Feb, if you are in Cape Town - go. And if you aren't, maybe it will come to your neck of the woods.

Music: Claire Phillips and Jimmy Dludlu

I think my first music concert I attended was Soweto String Quartet playing at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. It was an UCT RAG initiative, and I believe one of the first concerts ever in the gardens. Since then, there has been a regular season of music concerts in the gardens, drawing a wide range artists.

I am back in Cape Town, and since M is also here; we decided to go have a picnic in the late afternoon, while enjoying jazz legend Jimmy Dludlu (interestingly there is a German wikipedia page, but no English) and local artist Claire Phillips.

Despite the strong summer sun, the grounds were packed. We still managed to find some shade at the back, though that did reduce the visibility of the stage somewhat. The MC was annoying, in his attempt to say something meaningful about the artists, but instead just babbling on.

I am not sure if there is an exact "type" of music for Claire Phillips - it was a bit of jazz and a bit of pop. It sounded good; but it was not very spectacular. She did engage the audience a lot; and drew warm applause at the mention of her (and the band's) imminent second album.

Jimmy Dludlu's set started rather slowly, but slowly much of the audience started to stand-up and dance along. He played some of his big hits, with barely a pause between songs; and included a song from Michael Jackson which got high approval from the crowd.

It was not the most active concert I have been to; but it was a relaxing way to spend the afternoon/early evening. I do think both artists' music would be better experienced in a more intimate setting of a club, but it was still enjoyable. If you are in Cape Town, I can't think of many better ways of spending a Sunday afternoon in the summer.